A TJ’s classy picnic and some Friday Finds.

Brooke and I spent our night in Salt Lake City helping my aunt move. This aunt was the one that signed me up for my very first race ever—> a 1/2 marathon back in 2006. I made sure to under-train for the race like a champ and so I couldn’t walk normally for a good 5 days or so after the race because I was so sore. Good memories.

Brookie figured out how to do a selfie while we were unpacking.

We just happened to be near a Trader Joe’s (we don’t have any in our area) and we made sure to stop in after we were all done moving. Brooke pretends that she is a cat for a good portion of each day and so she was ecstatic that these went into her cart.

Has anyone tried these before? I stood in front of them debating whether or not to get them for 5 minutes. I decided I would wait to purchase them until I heard from any of you that have tried them on whether or not I should buy them.

We weren’t super hungry for dinner because we had been snacking all afternoon but we did get some goods for a classy picnic. The Pasadena Chicken salad is my favorite pre-made salad at TJ’s. I think the macadamia nuts are what takes the salad to the next level for me.

Tonight as we were eating on the grass I couldn’t stop thinking about how much I love being the two of us. Twoish years ago I was scared to death about how the single parent thing would go down but it turns out that it is really working well for us. I had nothing to worry about.

(The battle wound on my ankle is from rollerblading—> the price you pay for a good time)

Off to get my long run in today! I’ve got plans Saturday morning so today will be the day to log in some miles.

Here is a picture where I attempted to copy all of the cool running pictures that I see on Instagram. I’ll just stick to running selfies from here on out.

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Some Friday Finds coming your way now:

-I don’t know why things like this shoe count interest me so much but I loved seeing the stats of what shoes were worn at the Boston Marathon two months ago. I contributed to that 19.04% of Brooks shoe wearers!

-I find it amazing how many trillions of different workouts that you can find online. I played around with THIS ‘FitFinder’ and it is pretty cool how you can find a workout that works pretty well for your fitness level/equipment etc.

-Dean Karnazes holds the record for the longest uninterupted run in history—> 262 miles (TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTY TWO) and the last mile of this run was a sub 6:00 mile. Wow. He ran three nights in a row without sleep during this 262 mile run. PS sometimes he orders a pizza while he is out on the run—> calls them up and tells them when and where to meet him as he is going along:)

–The 15 Nutrients Every Runner Needs—> Always a good reminder of things to ADD to our daily meals/snacks. My running always feels a million times better when I make sure to get in the good stuff… especially iron.

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Do you move often or have you been at the same place for a long time?

Do you have a TJ’s close to you? 3 of your must-haves from that store?

What is your longest uninterrupted run?

What are you up to tonight? Anything you are really looking forward to this weekend? Long run?

100 comments

I read Dean Karnazes’ book years ago and I still get nauseous thinking about running through taco bell drive throughs or him telling the pizza guy to meet him at some intersection! He has a gifted digestive system to say the least! My longest run ever has been marathon distance but I hope to someday run an ultra. Not with pizza or burritos though :)

The Boston show count is super interesting and I like your running pic!!
I move every few years.
I have a TJ’s about 20 minutes away. I rarely make it there.
Longest run: my first 50k
I running a half in the morning with friends, so I’ll prep for that tonight!

There’s a TJ’s about 3 miles from my apartment and I love it! I always get coconut water, cookie butter with cocoa swirl, and corn and chili tomato-less salsa. I’ve tried other cookie butter products including that one, and nothing compares with the regular spread! I say skip it.

I have a half marathon this weekend up on Lake Erie! I’m so excited :) Hope you and Brooke have a great weekend!

Sarah

I have a TJ’s about 30 minutes from me, but I always make sure to stop here and there for some goodies when I run out!

I bought those cookie butter cookies for my boyfriend, well, now ex (our break up had nothing to do with the cookies though, lol). He seemed to like them. I thought they were too sweet. I know, I’m an anomaly, I dislike overly sweet things, like cookie butter.

But if you’re a huge sweets eater, it seems like they would be perfect!

I’m training for a half that is June 28- I’m sure it’s going to be a HOT one. So, my weekend will consist of a long run and lots of food ;-)

We’ve lived in the same place for 8 years, which is the longest I’ve ever lived anywhere in my entire life. We are thinking of buying a new house, I’m trying to convince my husband it should be on a lake. We will see if it works!

We have a trader joes 20 minutes away and I can never manage to make it there. It is delicious, but further than I want to drive for groceries when I pass 17 stores along the way!

We have a couple Trader Joe’s nearby… I’m all about their banana chips, butternut squash ravioli, and caramel chocolate sea salt squares… interesting combination, but definitely my three favorite! No set plans for tonight, most likely pizza haha. Longish run tomorrow, probably right around 10… nothing crazy. Hope you have a fun Saturday!

I don’t move very often. I really hate the process of moving, but I LOVE the feel of a new apartment when you first move in.

I have a TJ’s just a few blocks away, which is great! I love the Thai peanut salad dressing, cookie butter (try the cookies for sure!) and this delicious turkey wrap I had a couple of weeks ago. So.good.

Our students graduate today, and I’m going to my favorite kiddo’s graduation party for a bit after, then home to run and relax. I’ll run longer Sunday and do a fast workout tomorrow. I’m so excited it’s the last day of school!! :)

Jaime

I moved 9 months ago from San Diego to my current city. I told my hubby that we couldn’t move unless there was a Trader Joe’s since it’s the only place I do my shopping. Luckily they had opened one months before we moved there! My top 3…their chicken nuggets (my 2 1/2 year old loves them), their spinach salad kit, and their coffee! Also, for future visits…if you ask an employee about a product you are unsure is delicious, they will open it and let you try/taste so you can buy it on the spot!

Sarah

I was overboard happy when TJ’s opened up nearby.( There had been one within a mile from my house a few moves ago.) My faves are the peanut butter (it’s just saltier and better than other pb!), thai peanut dressing, and dark chocolate bars.
Plus I like good wine really cheap:-)

Love your running picture. I actually have decided to give up on running for a little while. My knees, my poor knees. I’m going to hopefully get back at it after I lose more weight. 40 lbs. down, 60 more to go!

Susan

We have a TJs about 1/2 hour away but truth be told, I rarely shop there! I do think they have really good nut butters and salad dressings. This will make people laugh, I am sure, but my longest run is only 8 miles. I have never been one to want to “go the distance” and since I do 3 sports + weights, running “just enough” works for me. Today I logged 6 miles and that was more than enough. Hoping I can do the same on Sunday. Tonight is nephew’s baseball game–to me, an excellent way to spend a Friday night!

I’ve had the cookies and can attest to them being really really good! Funny when I saw your post say TJ’s I thought you meant TJ Maxx. That’s what my Mom calls it and I thought well that’s interesting you went there for a picnic! This weekend I’m driving from Phoenix to Tucson to visit friends!!!

I’ve lived in five different cities over the past five years. I’m ready to stay settled for a bit!
I rarely go to TJs, but when my husband grabs his work lunch there I always get a bit jealous—their salads and wraps sound so good!
Happy Friday and hope you enjoy your long run and National Donut Day!

Holly

I just got my first pair of Sauconys. After suffering ITBS in Adidas (not the shoe’s fault) I decided I wanted something with more cushion and saw that the Saucony Kinvara 5 got good reviews on runners world.

Those cookies look amazing, next time I go to my dad’s in America I’m definitely buying those!! I’ve moved twice, our family moved to Chicago 6 years ago and now I’m back in England! I loved living in the States for 6 years because I got to see so many amazing things but definitely happy to be back home! My mum said the same thing about being worried about single parenting but she’s doing a pretty amazing job like you are with Brooke :)

Jennifer

I love those TJ cookies! We buy them 2 boxes at a time. Very addictive and delicious! TJ’s is about 2 miles from me, so I shop there often. I buy these cookies, the cinnamon raisin bread, and organic cereal all the time. My longest run has been the marathon. This weekend I am racing, wish me luck!

I move often because my life has been nothing but stable for the last 37 years but fingers crossed, I’m hoping that life settles down a bit ????!!! and we can hang out in this place (not just the house, but this space of life) for a while longer. Long run tonight of 20 miles! I love running at night wayyyyy more than mornings.

Cassie

Your opening line about your first half just made me laugh so hard (out loud…in my cube at work…) I am running my fourth half on Sunday and am seriously undertrained (maybe not, but I am super hard on myself so I like to think that I am going to stop living at mile 2. That’s probably not accurate.) and so it made me laugh thinking about how this will probably happen to me too, lol!

Laura

I am addicted to Trader Joe’s dark chocolate nibs in a tin. I buy a dozen tins every time I go! I justify it to myself because it’s only 140 calories. I also love the coconut yogurt, and the grilled eggplant & zucchini combo in the freezer section. Love getting new ideas from you!

I am ALL about the cookie butter (and pretty much do 100% of my grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s) and I can honestly say those cookies are heaven. The only thing that would make them better is if you dipped them INTO cookie butter ;)

I’m heading to Santa Cruz this weekend to catch up with a couple of old friends/roommates. Should be really fun! One of them just moved back to the area after being away for a couple of years. So glad to have good friends nearby again!

My husband and I just moved into our new house a month ago and are here to stay. It is our dream home and the home we want to raise a family in, so I am quite excited to feel settled in my favorite part of town. Easy access to running and mountain biking trails, several parks, and my mom’s house (always important when there is a baby on the way). ☺

Longest uninterrupted run would have to be a marathon. I have yet to go beyond that distance – but have done that distance plenty of times.

I have a TJ about 10 minutes from my house- I am going tomorrow actually and picking up some of my favorites from there- almond butter, cookie butter, almonds and their 21 Seasoning Salute (so good on eggs!)

I have my last long run tomorrow morning before my half next Saturday- 12 miles so it will be a low key night.

Love the Runner’s World piece! I use sweet potatoes as my main source of carbs for long runs and I swear I feel better with all the nutrients they offer over other more processed options.

Karin

I grew up in the same house and moved as every times after I turned 18, mostly while I’ve been married. We’ve been in our first home for 4 years (and 2 kids ) later and my husband has the moving bug again but I really love where we live and don’t want to move. Plus kid stuff multiplies like crazy and I can’t imagine moving all our stuff.
I love the cookie butter cheesecake. My other TJ must haves are the honey pretzel sticks and Thai peanut dressing.
My longest run is a half marathon. I have done two, and at the end of both I couldn’t imagine turning around and running that whole distance over again to complete a full. Maybe someday! Although I guess I remember thinking I could never run a half and that happened so….

Nova

We are lucky to live close to many TJs. I just love them. That’s where we do a lot of our shopping! My kids and husband love the Cookie Butter sandwich cookies. If you like their cookie butter than you will like the sandwich cookies :)

Kathy

First and foremost- GET THE CAT COOKIES!!! The normal flavor is a light cinnamon. The chocolate one tastes like extra crunchy chocolate teddy grahams. Nothing wrong there. Also, there are so many cookies in one serving. So. Very. Happy.

My longest run is a bit over 34 miles. Funny enough, I felt like I could keep going. I should try it.

No TJ’s close to us. Booooo! Those cookies look yummy! Brooke neeeeds them to celebrate her first blog post!
My longest run was a 50k. I cannot even imagine 262 miles! Crazy yet amazing!
No big plans tonight. Hopefully early bedtime, I’m wild and crazy like that! Ha!

Unfortunately since we’re still renting we tend to move pretty frequently. We just renewed our lease in our current house though and I am stoked! I hate moving. Also, how does a person run for 262 miles?! My legs are crying just thinking about that. I imagine eating a whole pizza while doing it would lessen the hurt just slightly though.

-I’ve been in Vegas my entire life :)
– I LOVE TJ’S!!! Three must haves are: Turkey burgers, almond butter, and canned salmon!
– My longest uninterrupted run was about 15 miles!
-Tonight I have a date with the gym: BodyPump and CxWorx! I’m looking forward to attending my school’s graduation this weekend. I can’t believe I’ll be saying bye to all the seniors, and becoming one myself!

Erin

Michelle

Nearest TJ’s is about an hour away so when we do make it there, it’s pretty epic. 3 must haves: birthday cards (they’re 99 cents!), middle eastern pitas (so good with hummus and sliced veggies) and recently their frozen key lime pie. Just thaw and serve. I really want to try their South African seasoning, heard lots of good things and it should be back in stores now (seasonal item).

Julie

I’ve done the same stare/debate at those cookies in my TJ’s, too! I also passed them up (& opted for the straight-up spoonful of cookie butter instead), but based on some of the other comments, I may have to rethink that next time. :P

I am so grateful to live 10 minutes away from a Trader Joe’s! I go there all the time. I wasn’t a huge fan of the cookie butter cookie sandwiches. I love cookie butter, but I’m not a huge fan of shortebread-y type crispy cookies. Now, if they made a chewy cookie butter cookie sandwich, that would change everything! I always go to town on their freezer aisle (chili lime chicken burgers, garlic naa and polenta w/ spinach & carrots), but my very favorite thing there are their Chocolate Covered Sea Salt Butterscotch Caramels. Heaven in tiny little balls.

My longest run was this morning – 10 miles! That seems like a drop in the bucket compared to your mileage, but I’m proud of it! 16 days until my first half marathon. Hoping I’ve trained enough so that I don’t have to hobble for 5 days afterward! ;-)

This weekend I’m going to a 3-year-old’s birthday party, packing, then hitting the road for a 14-hour road trip to Colorado to spend the next few weeks with my family. Can’t wait!

Longest uninterrupted run is 26.3, and tonight I am making cupcakes and preparing to host a baby shower for a dear friend tomorrow!
My favorite TJ products are the olive oil popcorn, the Gluten Free Cupcakes (YUMM!), and the chocolate and sea salt coated carmels. All junk food- I swear I eat well!

Next TJ run, make sure to get “Way more chocolate chip” cookies. I know i know you make the worlds best CCC, but these are like crack! Not saying I know what crack tastes like.

Anything cookie butter = winning

And here’s a runfie tip. Just set it on video instead of timer or burst. Once you have the video, just pause where you find the best shot and screen capture. This way, you can just position the camera and run by it a couple of times… Try it!

Lauren

I am lucky to have a TJ’s in town.
My top 3:
* Reduced guilt mac n’cheese (frozen but so good I lick the bowl clean, seriously)
* Individual greek yogurt cups (mango, vanilla bean and coconut are my favs)
* Hold-the-Cone mini ice cream cones. You’d be surprise how 1 can sometimes actually just be enough and I am an ice cream addict!

Holy crap, Dean Karnazes is impressive. I seriously cannot imagine eating pizza while running, but hey, if you’re going 262 miles, I guess you can eat what you want! I’ve never tried the cookie butter cookies, but I HAVE had the TJ’s cookie butter spread before and it is INCREDIBLE (beware how addictive it is!) I would have to imagine those cookies would be pretty dang yummy too :)

Longest run is the marathon – an ultra is def on the bucket list
TJ’s love so many things: chocolate covered almonds, maple pecan cereal, their unsweetened applesauce, they also have great hummus (at a great price!)
Loved your running pic!
Have a great weekend!!

elizabeth

We recently got a TJs in our neighborhood, and I go at least once a month (Wegmans rules around here) and stock up. I love those Cat Cookies! Never tried the sandwich cookies, but now I may have to. You NEED their dark chocolate peanut butter cups. They are amazing.
That Dean interview never gets old. I don’t like how Letterman acts like he’s making fun of him… but he’s probably just jealous :)

I haven’t tried the cookie butter cookies but swear by the plain cookie butter!! I prefer the crunchy kind and put it on EVERYTHING. Other TJ favorites include: turkey jerky, the dark chocolate pretzel thins, and crunchy salted almond butter!

Running a half tomorrow with a friend AND a 10k with my mom on Sunday (her first 10k) … !

I think Dean is one of the most inspiring people ever! I’d never seen that interview but I’ve read all of his books. Just love that guy!! I’ll be digging deep for some Dean inspiration at my first Ultra, that’s for sure!! :)

My longest uninterrupted run was 13.1 miles and not a tenth more! ha! I’d love to go on a 14 or 15 mile run to say I’ve run farther than a half marathon. And nope the marathon distance does not interest me. Dean you crazy bro.

Tanya

Ok first, the cookie butter cookies are really good!! They are kind of flaky– like a good sugar cookie, they are a bit sweet tho! We have a TJ’s about 1/2 hour away so I go when I need coconut creamer, broccoli slaw or my kids favorite–mandarin orange chicken (frozen section). They are having tonight as we watch McFarland USA. I will be having a sweet potato with a turkey burger on top! Thanks for that–my husband thinks that’s all I eat! Furthest run is a marathon x2!

That Dean Karnazes record is amazing! I love the pizza story. Sometimes I am out, I think about pizza too. I guess if I ran long enough, I could order a whole pizza too. Maybe I should plan some long runs